Decode
by LaneywantstoRAWR
Summary: Clary Fray lived the normal life of a regular teenage girl. That is, until she met Jace Herondale. The closer Clary tries to get to him the more he pushes her away. Little does she know Jace's dark past is all but forgot, and it could put them both in danger. A Clace fanfiction. (PREVIOUSLY NAMED DARK SKIES)


Hello! This is my first fanfiction, and I am super excited about it!

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I'm having fun writing it!

Since I've only just started writing, I can only get better.

(Also if you haven't noticed, The summary kind of sucks. I'll get right on that.)

Enjoy.

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own TMI (Sadly) Because I am not the lovely Cassandra Clare. I only own the plot.**

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"Simon, I'm just saying that I don't think 'Cheerleader Massacre' is a good band name." Clary tried hiding the humor in her voice, but she was failing miserably. Simon, her best friend, was always trying to come up with a unique band name, but it always ended up being something completely ridiculous.

They were sitting on the sofa, watching Full Metal Alchemist when Simon had started telling her how him and Eric had discussed the name change. He seemed pretty happy about it, even though Clary knew it was only for another week, maybe, before they changed their band name to something a little weirder.

"But Clary, it is a good band name," Simon said, his head laid on the back of the sofa, and his feet on the coffee table. "You just refuse to see it."

Clary didn't feel like trying to reason with him about the band name. She knew soon enough she wouldn't have to hear it anymore after he changed it again and again. She sighed dramatically and threw her hands up. "Oh my goodness! Simon, you're right. I haven't looked at like that. It's a perfect band name." She forced so much sarcasm into it that it almost sounded serious.

He looked at her for a moment and laughed. "See? I told you it was great. I knew you'd come around, eventually." He joked. They sat there for a few moments, the only noise being the television still playing the Best Alchemist marathon. Simons phone started buzzing, alerting him of a new text message. When he opened it he gasped and jumped off the couch. "Shit," he whispered to himself before throwing his shoes on. "Shit," he repeated. he crossed the room in a few long strides, entering the kitchen and picked up his hoodie off of the dining room chair.

"Let me guess," Clary grinned. "Late for a 'Cheerleader Murder' rehearsal?"

"'Cheerleader Massacre '" He corrected. "And no. That's not it." He pulled his hoodie on over his head.

"Then what is it? What are you late for?" Clary got up from her seated position on the couch and walked over to him, fixing the strings on his hood.

"I'm late for dinner with my mom and Becky. She's leaving for college tonight and I was supposed to be there half an hour ago." He kissed Clary's cheek. "I'll be back later. Bye Clare-bear." and with that he walked out the door and down the stairs of the apartment building.

Clary sighed and took her previous place on the sofa. She picked up her sketch pad and turned to a blank page. She picked up a pencil and had just set the tip to the page when a loud knock was at the door.

Clary audibly groaned. She stood and opened the door, expecting Simon. "What'd you do? Forget your-"

She was cut off when she saw that it wasn't Simon. It was a tall, very slim girl with long dark hair and brown eyes. She wore a tight, black dress that came to about mid-thigh and high-heeled boots.

"Hello. I'm Isabelle Lightwood," Isabelle smiled. "I moved in upstairs, and I wanted to come meet you."

"Uhm, Okay. I'm Clary Fray. My friend Simon lives here, too, but I'm afraid he's out right now."

"Oh that's fine." Isabelle lowered her voice to a whisper and leaned in. "You know, the woman downstairs creeps me out. Is she always so wild-eyed and crazy looking?"

Clary laughed. "You mean Madame Dorothea?"

"Yeah. Her." Isabelle said, still quite serious.

"She's fine. She thinks she's a fortune-teller. She can forsee your death. She foresees everyone's death. Don't worry about her."

Isabelle laughed. "Well, when you put it like that she just sounds like a harmless lunatic that wants everyone to die."

"Would you like to come in, Isabelle?" Clary asked, moving aside to make room for the girl to come in.

"Sure, and you can call me Izzy." She smiled and stepped through the door.

"Okay, Izzy." Clary closed the door and walked behind Isabelle. "You can sit anywhere. Do you want anything to drink?"

"No thanks," Isabelle said sitting down on the sofa. "I was wondering if you'd wanna go to a club with me tonight. I don't know many people here, and you seem fun."

Clary shrugged. "What club?"

"That Pandemonium club looks great. How about we go there later?"

"Alright. Sounds great. What time?"

"Whenever. But... Clary? You're not wearing that are you?" Isabelle said looking Clary up and down like she was something just out of the trash.

Clary frowned and looked down at her attire-a plain white t-shirt with tattered jeans and some converse. "What's wrong with my clothes?"

"Nothing! Nothing. Just it doesn't look like something you'd wear at a club, you know?"

Clary sighed. "Well this is all I got."

Isabelle jumped off the sofa with a grin on her face. "Okay. You can borrow some of my clothes. C'mon." Clary hesitantly followed Isabelle to the door.

They went up the stairs where Isabelle opened the door and gestured for Clary to come in. Clary walked through the door and Isabelle threw it shut behind her. They walked down a short hallway and walked into a bedroom that Clary guessed was Isabelle's.

Isabelle pulled open her wardrope and pulled out several different dresses. All of them looking quite short and tight. Clary could tell they were all a great fit for Isabelle, but something told her these dresses weren't dresses Clary wouldn't be complimenting herself any.

oOo

A few hours later, Clary sat in front of a full length mirror and could hardly recognize herself. Isabelle had gotten her into a tight, black, strapless dress and black heels that made her look considerably taller.

Her fiery red hair was pulled into a clip, leaving a few curly strands hanging by her face. Isabelle had tried to add a few layers of make-up, but Clary only let her do her eyes and lips.

"What do you think?" Isabelle stood behind her, wearing a dress similar to Clary's but she wore taller heels and a bit more make-up.

Clary turned. "It looks great. Thanks."

"I'm glad you think so. C'mon. Let's get going." Isabelle grabbed her small purse and walked towards the door of her apartment, Clary following close behind.

They caught a cab and got to Pandemonium a short while after they left. The two girls walked over to the door. Clary was sure they weren't going to get in. The line wrapped half way around the building.

Isabelle leaned in and whispered to one of the men blocking the door. Clary strained to hear it, but she heard nothing. To Clary's surprise, the man moved and gestured for them to go in. Isabelle walked past the man through the door, and Clary hesitantly followed. She didn't understand how Isabelle could have said anything to get immediate access, but she had.

Clary had been to Pandemonium before. She'd been here with Simon her fair share of times, but she'd never been here with another girl, in these types of clothing. She felt exposed. She looked around for Isabelle. She spotted the girl's long, dark hair at the bar. She was sitting next to a boy Clary had never seen before. He had dark hair like Isabelle, but instead of dark-brown eyes his were a piercing blue.

She walked over to Isabelle and tapped her shoulder. Isabelle turned and started speaking, but Clary couldn't hear her. Clary shook her head and leaned closer.

"This is Alec, my brother," She motioned to the boy sitting next to her. "Alec, this is Clary. She lives in the apartment below mine."

Clary smiled. "Nice to meet you, Alec."

Isabelle turned back to Alec. "Where's Jace?"

Alec shook his head. "He disappeared with some blonde. i don't know where they went. Although, I wouldn't look too hard. There's no telling what that idiot's doing to the girl."

Isabelle laughed. "I expected as much."

"Who's Jace?" Clary asked Isabelle.

Alec answered. "Jace is our brother. He's... well... He gets around with the ladies."

"A lot." Isabelle added. "Anyway, I'm going to go get some drinks . Clary, do you want anything?"

Clary shook her head. "I'm fine, thanks."

Isabelle shrugged and walked down the bar a little ways, to the bartender. Alec waved at Clary and followed his sat on the stool that Isabelle had sat on a few seconds prior. She drummed her fingers on the bar and waited for Izzy to come back. She heard the stool next to hers shuffle as someone sat down.

"Hey, little red."

Clary turned and saw gold. The boy next to her was golden. He had perfectly combed back gold hair, sparkling gold orbs and a perfectly golden complection. He looked at her with a smirk on his face.

Clary couldn't get the words to form. She didn't know what to say. This boy in front of her was gorgeous. It only took her a moment, though, to realize the entertainment he was getting from watching her struggle to come up with words.

"Little red?" Clary asked him. She figured it'd be in her best interest to keep her words simple, seeing as though she had a hard enough time as it was just to speak.

"Well, 'Red Riding Hood' didn't seem to fit you, and neither did 'Strawberry shortcake'." The boy shrugged.

"Well, that's obvious." She spoke in a 'duh' voice and shrugged. "But why Little Red?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I hope you've noticed before." He pretended to give her a concerned look. "The red hair is obvious. And let's face it. You're not the tallest."

Clary nodded. "Gotchya."

The boy stuck his hand out in her direction. "Jace Herondale."

Clary's eyes widened. "So you're Jace?"

Jace smirked. "Ah, so you've heard of me. I told Izzy I was going to be famous."

Clary ignored his comment. "But that doesn't make sense. Izzy and Alec look so much alike. You look nothing like them."

Jace laughed. "I'm guessing Izzy told you about me. I'm their adoptive brother, little red, thus explaining why I'm so much better looking."

Clary snorted. "I've never met anyone as full of themselves as you are."

He smirked. "That's not really true. Many people believe they are the best there is, so they act as if everyone is below them. I, however, am just stating facts when I say I'm quite striking."

Clary rolled her eyes. "I hear you get on pretty well with the ladies."

"Bad choice of words, but yes, I do." Jace grinned.

Clary made an attempt of an uninterested facial expression. "Eh. I don't see it."

Jace looked a little taken aback. "What?"

"I mean I don't see the big fuss. I mean, sure, you're not too bad to look at, there is just one small obstacle to having a nice conversation with you." Clary shrugged.

"And what would that be, red?" Jace raised an eyebrow at her.

"Your personality."

Jace scoffed. "That's rude. Your attitude doesn't need to be as fiery as your hair, red."

"My name's not 'red' or 'little red'. It's Clary."

"Well, Clary-" Jace started

"Oh, I see you found Jace." Isabelle appeared from the crowd. She leaned in and whispered Clary's ear. "I'm sorry."

Clary laughed. "Don't worry about it, Izzy."

"Where's the blonde at, Jace?" Alec asked, sitting down next to him.

Jace shrugged. "Lost her in the crowd. Not a big deal. She was so annoying."

Isabelle snorted. "Really? Because by the looks of it you seemed like you wanted to hit th-"

"Isabelle," Jace said through gritted teeth. "keep your pretty little head quiet."

"Fine. Geez," Isabelle laughed. "Don't see why you care about us talking about it now, though. It's only us."

Jace leaned in and whispered to Isabelle something almost completely inaudible to Clary. She only made out her name and Jace not-so-politely telling her once again to shut-up. Isabelle started to protest, but Jace turned around quickly.

"It was nice meeting you, red, But I should get going now. Bye." Jace gave her a grin and turned away, walking off into the crowd.

Clary shook her head. "Yeah. I'm probably gonna dash, too. See you later, Izzy. It was nice meeting you, Alec." Clary smiled and started towards the door she had entered through.

As soon as the door opened a blast of cool night air hit her. Goosebumps rose along her skin, and she started to wish she had brought a jacket. It was dark outside with the exception of the many streetlights; one of the perks of living in the city.

Clary had always used the shortcut through the alley between two buildings to get to her apartment. It meant she didn't have to walk almost two blocks, so why not, right?

As she walked through the alley, she felt the presence of another person behind her. She kept walking. She had seen horror movies; she knew how it would end up if she didn't keep walking- if she turned around to face her follower.

Just as she rounded the corner, she let out a sigh of relief, but she had let her guard down all too soon. She felt a hand grab the back of her dress and pull her backwards. Another hand slipped around her neck holding her in place. Clary's first instinct was to run. Well, she knew that wasn't going to happen the second she was being pulled , she did the only thing she could do.

She screamed.

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Love it? Hate it? Leave a reveiw and let me know.

I hope to have the next chapter up soon.

~Laney


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